PlayStation Vita won’t support multiple PSN accounts

After saying the PlayStation Vita would indeed be able to manage multiple PlayStation Network accounts with minimal hassle, Sony has now back-tracked on their statement, revealing that owners will likely be limited to one account.

While the multi-account issue probably won’t be a concern for most Vita owners, those who do share a Vita with other users won’t be able to change accounts without wiping the entire system. Originally, Sony had claimed that switching accounts would be as simple as swapping memory cards.

“[The] PSN account is tied to the hardware and the memory card, not just the card,” a Sony representative told Wired, “which means that if a second person is using your Vita, it’s not just a case of switching out memory cards, it’s clearing out all of your saved data on the Vita itself when you do the factory reset.”

“In other words, PlayStation Vita is intended to be played by only one user,” the representative added.

With the Vita hitting shelves in Japan this weekend and arriving in the U.S. on February 22, much has been made of the handheld console’s abilitiesandlimitations. The PlayStation 3 recently received a major update that prepared it for the Vita’s release, and Sony has hinted that some of the Vita’s shortcomings could be addressed in future firmware updates.